Role of labetalol in acute myocardial infarction.

1 The role of labetalol in managing acute myocardial infarction is reviewed. 2 After intravenous infusion labetalol lowers blood pressure in patients with increased blood pressure associated with acute myocardial infarction. 3 Although average heart rate was decreased, cardiac index fell only slightly and stroke index was substantially unchanged. 4 In patients whose pretreatment pulmonary artery end-diastolic pressures were increased, labetalol induced decreases, whereas in the presence of normal pressures, these were unchanged. 5 It is concluded that labetalol infusion in patients with acute myocardial infarction is unlikely to precipitate heart failure and is likely to be of value in reducing myocardial oxygen requirement.